A Good Day ~

I made my annual trek to the rug show at Sauder Village.  It is always so inspiring to see what others have hooked.  There are MANY talented hookers out there.  The day was spent enjoying the rug show, doing a little shopping and chatting with many friends I have met through hooking.

Ann from 1803 Ohio Farm Baskets and I made plans to meet for the first time.  Ann is an amazing basket weaver (and cross stitcher and rug hooker and who knows what else) and I asked that she bring one of her wool baskets for me.  Let me tell you, this basket is beautiful ~ and huge.  That stool is 18" wide so you can see how big it really is.  It will be perfect to carry supplies to hooking and will just look darned good sitting out at home.

I felt as if I was meeting up with an old friend.  (Well, I am the old part . . . lol!)  What a fun day we had together.  She is an absolute delight!  Of course I thought about taking a picture of her as she was driving out of the parking lot.

The funny thing is that I brought her a few pieces wool to add to her stash.  I put it in a red bag with crow tissue paper.  This is what she gave to me . . . a red bag with crow tissue paper.  How ironic is that?

And this was in my bag!!!  This is the other basket I wanted from her but thought I'd better only buy one since I knew I'd be buying some wool.  It is just the sweetest basket with the cutest clothes pin feet.  THANK YOU, ANN!!!  You can check out her wonderful creations in her etsy shop.  You won't be sorry!

Late in the afternoon they had what I believe was called a "moving" exhibit.  It was a challenge put to hookers to hook a mask.  Some people are very creative!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I have LOTS more to share.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Where's Betsy?

I meant to post this a few days ago, but we all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions . . . lol!

If you are taking a class or attending the rug show at Sauder Village, be sure to ask "Where's Betsy?".  I would love to be able to purchase Betsy's wool there.  Don't get me wrong, there is lots of wonderful wool to be had, but wool variety is the spice of life!

I'm sure I will have lots to share from my trip there tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

NYAP ~

Not Your Average Pumpkin!

Let me begin by saying I am NOT wishing for fall.  I just really don't like what comes after it!  I wish we could go back to June and try for a summer that was a little less hot, a little less humid and much less dry!  (I'm not asking for too much, am I?)  Signs of fall are becoming so apparent.  It is now dark at 6am when I walk Annie and again by 9pm.  The crickets are chirping louder by the day and leaves are beginning to fall from some of the trees, due to dryness perhaps?

With all this being said, I am hooking pumpkins.  I am actually hooking my fourth pumpkin using handtorn strips and I am having such fun doing it!  (I still haven't pulled a loop on my camp rug since returning home several weeks ago.)

The color of this pumpkin is very un-pumkinlike.  (I knew spell check would not like that word . . . lol.)  I do believe this is my favorite one so far.  Now that I've taken a picture, I see I need to manipulate a few loops where white spots are showing.

Here is the wool I am using ~ just one textured plaid.  Sure wish I had more of this wool.

This is the same wool I used for the star in my Magdalena rug.  I used stripes of the wool to get the two colors.

What color should I use for the stem?  I'm still undecided.  Help would be appreciated.  My top choices are the two wools on the left.  The far left piece is a rusty brown and the gold is more a dirty gold.  I am thinking the rusty brown???

Is blogger deleting blogs from your blog list?  I've found about a half dozen in the last few days that are no longer showing up, so if you notice yours is no longer there, drop me an email and I will put you back on.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Animal Enrichment Day~

Saturday was Animal Enrichment Day at the Cleveland, Ohio,  Metroparks Zoo.  We were the guests of friend Dolly (who had adopted my foster pug Eema), a docent at the zoo.  She volunteers on a regular basis and we learned so much about the animals from her!

Here's Jake with his best monkey impression.  I'd say he did a fine job.

From the Cleveland Zoo website . . . "The Zoo's annual Creature Comforts event is your chance to see some of the more unique "enrichment" activities keepers use to enhance the lives of the animals and keep them healthy both mentally and physically.  Past demonstrations have included papier-mache prey for predators to on pounce on, a "beehive" stuffed with treats on a bungee cord for the sloth bear and a puzzle feeder for the octopus to solve."  

Jake loves to take pictures and was determined to get a picture of the beaver.  He was having a heck of a time as they swim pretty darned fast!

Feeding the giraffe.

One of the adult eastern black rhinoceros.  There is a one month old baby, Juba (which means "brave" in Swahili), but he was not outside when we visited the area.

The koala exhibit was one of my favorites.  This is momma with her baby tucked under her arm.  Sweet!

Jake feeding the lorikeet. 

A meerkat standing guard watching for predators while the others played and dug in the dirt.

Jake and I were so fortunate to have such a personalized tour of the zoo.  We spent 7 hours there and my dogs were barkin' by the time we left.  As we were pulling out of the parking lot, Jake asked me if they were going to do this again next year and he wanted to come.  It was a great experience to share with Jake and a big THANK YOU to Dolly.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

The End ~ Promise

How many weeks later and I am still posting about the Heavens to Betsy hooking retreat?  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  It was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!!!  Camp will be held again next July at Shaker Village and I believe this fall she and Bev will also have a camp in Shipshewana, Indiana.  I highly recommend it!

Class was held at the West Family Wash House.

Lots of beautiful wools ~ both hand dyed and as-is.

Mr. & Mrs. Heavens to Betsy with my partner in crime, Melissa.

Left to right ~ Becky who ran the camp store, Bev and Betsy who hosted the retreat and Rita, who kept the financial books.

Hooked by Betsy.

What fun detail!

A rug being hooked by Bev.

Becky's work in progress.

Melissa hooked Karen Kahle's seaweed pattern that she shared on her blog.

Around the classroom.  The first two ladies are fellow buckeyes.

A Heavens to Betsy pattern I purchased.

Here is Betsy's version.  The colors came out TOTALLY WRONG!

Susy's Chickens is another pattern I purchased.  It's about 26' x 33", which is HUGE for me.

And here's Bev's hooked version.  FUN!

Rita is a very talented basketmaker and offered a class.  Here is my basket.  I opted not to add a handle.

A trip to Shaker Village would not be complete without a trip to a well known local restaurant in Burgin, KY.  The first night I had fried green tomatoes (for the first time ever!) and the second night I opted for the famous Burgin burger ~ a Big Mac on steroids and yummy onion rings, all for about $7.00.

Since returning from camp, I have not pulled a loop on my camp rug, but I have hooked 3 pumpkins with hand torn strips.  I hope to get back to it soon.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren